The District Commissioner (DC) for Kasungu James Kanyangalazi has urged the people of Kasungu to remain patient and peaceful as they wait for the official results of the September 16 General Elections.
Kanyangalazi said this at the District Tally Centre housed at Chankhanga CDSS Hall after receiving results from all Constituency Tally Centres.
The DC commended voters who turned up to cast their ballots on September 16, saying they responsibly honored their right to vote, which is enshrined in the Constitution.
“We had a peaceful polling on September 16, so as we wait for the results, we need to continue this togetherness and maintain the peace that has prevailed all this time,” the DC said.
He added that the election results should not hinder coexistence, urging those who win to celebrate responsibly and those who lose to accept defeat and support the winning side.
Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) District Elections Officer Funny Chamba expressed satisfaction with the polling process and the retrieval of results from the Constituency Tally Centres to the District Tally Centre.
She said: “There was good coordination between MEC and all stakeholders and that is why the polling was a success. We did not receive many complaints from candidates or political parties.”
The National Initiative for Civic Education (NICE) Trust was one of the observers, monitoring the polling day, the tallying of results at polling centres, Constituency Tally Centres, and the District Tally Centre.
The District’s NICE Trust Programs Officer Gerald Chirwa said: “We appreciate what people have done in terms of coming out in large numbers to cast their votes peacefully. We haven’t received any incidents of violence in Kasungu. Democracy is about choices, and the majority will rule. As results are coming in, we would like to urge people to accept them because that is part of democracy. When the majority says yes, it is final.”
According to unofficial results, the district has a total of 345,041 registered voters, of which 236,250 turned out to vote, with 7,515 void ballots.
Malawi Congress Party (MCP) presidential candidate Lazarus Chakwera is leading with 160,210 votes, followed by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Arthur Peter Mutharika with 50,182 votes.
Unofficially, only three MCP parliamentary candidates—out of the nine former Members of Parliament—have reclaimed their seats in the district.
By Davie Banda
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